Explosive.



UNITED s'rArns PATENT OFFICE.

FIN SPABRE, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR TO B. I. DU PONT DENEMOURS POWDER COMPANY, 01- WILMINGTON,

DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF NEW Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

JERSEY. I

, EXPLOSIVE.

1,128,380, Specification of Letters Patent.

80 Drawing.

Zo'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FIN SPABRE, of Wilmington, in the county of NewCastle, and in the State of Delaware, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Explosives, and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.-

The object of my invention has been to provide an explosive of thegeneral nature of black powder, and process of making the same, whichshall have the advantages of being safe in manufacture, comparativelylow in cost, and capable of manufacture into,"

and retaining desired mechanical shapes such as different sized grainsor pellets, and capable of glazing with graphite, and to such ends myinvention consists in the explosive and process of making the samehereinafter specified.

Common, so-called black powder is a mechanical mixture of sulfur,charcoal and a nitrate, mostly sodium or potassium nitrate. Thisexplosive is based on the supply of oxygen from the nitrate whichoxidizes the charcoal to give gaseous products at a high temperature,while the sulfur is primarily for the purpose of increasing the rapidityof combustion and lowering the temperature of ignition, The sulfur alsohas a considerable 'nieohanical advantage of aidin in the manufactureasit gives the desired ardness and cohesion of the powder cake so'that itcan be obtained in grains of the desired density.

' In the manufacture of black powder a considerable proportion of thecost is due to the necessary care to avoid explosions, requiring'nianyand expensive operations. With the object of reducing the danger ofexplosion and thus avoiding the expense of these operations, blackpowder has been manu .factured in the presence of water in which thenitrates were dissolved while the sulfur and charcoal were held insuspension. The

water was afterward evaporated-h account, however, of the insolubilityof thesulfur and charcoal in water, the desired incorporation of'itheingredients could not be satisfactorily effected in this way, and whilethe operation was safe during the first part of the wet process, itsubsequently became just as dangerous as the regular process ofdrymanufacture; In the usual process,'the

"great danger in operation does not com-,

mence until the powder is nearing compleforms of powder.

Application filed January 25, 1913. Serial N 0. 744,094.

tion. Consequently, the wet process did not show any material advantageover the dry process. It has also been proposed to produce.,,an entirelywater soluble powder by producing a mixture of nitrate and water solubleorganic substances-such as, for instance, salts of organic sulfonates.The substances proposed in this connection are, for instance, sodiumbenzol sulfonate and sodium cresol sulfonate. In such a powder the 'nitrate supplies oxygen, whereas the organic substances form thecombustible material. While these powders can be produced with areasonably satisfactory degree of intimate mixture by dissolving, andsubsequent evaporation of the water, with satisfactory safety until thepowder is finished, this method is, nevertheless, not satisfactory. Inthe first place, these organic sulfonates and water.

soluble organic material in general are expensive as compared withsulfur and charcoal, and, further, this type of powder has thedisadvantage that it lacks the property of being able to be compressedinto cakes of sufficient cohesiveness to enable the subsequent graining,blazing, etc., to be obtained. This ismost important because forpractical operations the explosive must be of the desired density, beingcapable of manufacture into different sized grains or pellets, andcapable of glazing with graphite, if desired, etc., so as to enable thedesired regulation of the rapidity of combustion for the differentpowders, to permit satisfactory loading into shells and bore holes, etc.I have discovered that these, objections can be overcome by the use ofmetallic sulfids and particularly polysulfids of alkali or earth alkalimetals, for instance, sodium sulfids and calcium sulfids.

ment' under widely different formulae and with a large variety ofingredients, I shall give ,two of the best examples known to me.

As the first example, I may use-70% sodium nitrate, 15% sodiumpolysulfid, 15% sodium cresol sulfonate. In this case all the advantagesof the entire water soluble gum powder are obtained and, in addition,the sulfid is cheaper than the sulfonate and also makes the resultingmass capable of pressing, graining, etc., as required in the manufactureof the various mechanical As the second example, I may use the followingformula: 72% sodium nitrate, 13% calcium polysulfid, 15% charcoal. Boththe nitrate and the sulfid in this formula are 1 water soluble, therebyin the operation pr, o-

ducing an intimate mixture of the nitrate andthe sulfur. While thecharcoal is insoluble, the formula has, nevertheless, an advantage overthe regular black powder because two. cities ingredients are Watersoluble, and the third can be easily held in suspension, this being apeculiarity of finely ground charcoal. In fact, I have found thatcharcoal is practically as satisagent and a polysulfid oan=alkali-forming metal.

2. An explosive comprising an oxidizin agent and a polysulfid of analkaline ear metal. f

3. An explosive comprising a a polysulfid of an alkali-forming metal.

nitrate and 4. An explosive comprising a nitrate mit a. polysulfid of analkaline earth metal.

5. An explosive comprising an oxidizable carbon-containing material, anoxiilizing agent, and a polysulfid of an alkali-forming metal.

6. An explosive comprising an oxidizable carbon-containing material, anoici'dizin agent, and a polysulfid of an alkaline eartg '40 metal. I

7. An explosive comprising an .oxidizabl'e carbon-containing material, anitrate and a polysulfid of an alkali-forming metal,

8. .An explosivecompris'ing Jinoxidizable carbon-containing,.material,.a; nitrate and I a polysulfidpf an alkaline'earth metal.

9. An explosive.compzisingcharcoal, an oxidizing agent, and a polysulfidof an al kali-forming metal.

10. An explosrveeomprising charcoal; a; nitrate-and a polysulfid of an.alkaline earth metal, H I V '11. AJlFQXPlQSiVQ' comprising charcoal, a!

dium 'nitrateiandcalcium 'fpol sulfid.

wln testimonynthat I iioregoing If have FIN SPARRE'.

Witnesses 5 Cues. E. WEBB,-Jl-5= IIAMILTON BRAns'ua-w;

